JOY IN OUR SPIRIT!
"Joy," Claudel also said, "is the most infallible sign of
the presence of God."
I read in one of
the commentaries for today that on Christmas Day of 1886, while listening to a
choir singing the evening vespers service in the Cathedral of Notre Dame in
Paris, the teenage Paul Claudel - who would become a prominent French poet,
dramatist, and diplomat - experienced a conversion back to the Catholic faith
of his childhood. "In an instant," he said, "my heart was touched,
and I believed." With Christmas in this Holy Year 2015 fast approaching,
may we ready ourselves to be touched by and believe in the quiet joy of the
Nativity of the Lord. "Joy," Claudel also said, "is the most
infallible sign of the presence of God."
We will have that
'joy" when we recognize the indwelling presence of the Lord Jesus in our
lives! Blessed are you and I if we see and recognize the Lord with the
"eyes of faith."
As we reflect on
the Gospel of Luke today we can see the "joy" in Mary's visit to
Elizabeth. The visit as we know happen before the birth of Jesus Christ. When
Elizabeth greeted Mary she recognized the Messiah in Mary's womb. They were
filled with the Holy Spirit and with a joyful anticipation of the fulfillment
of God's promises to give us a Savior.
Points to Pray and Ponder: The Holy Spirit is God's gift to us all to enable
us to know and experience the indwelling presence of God. Our soul waits for
the Lord, may our hearts rejoice this Christmas!